Debates

This house would ban cosmetic surgery

This house would ban cosmetic surgery

The distinction between cosmetic surgery and other types of surgery such as reconstructive surgery is that cosmetic surgery involves techniques intended for the 'enhancement' of appearance. Cosmetic surgery involves both surgical and medical techniques and it is specifically concerned with maintaining normal appearance, restoring it, or enhancing it beyond the average level toward some aesthetic ideal. Cosmetic procedures have grown in popularity dramatically, in 2006, nearly 11 million cosmetic procedures were performed in the United States alone. The number of cosmetic procedures performed in the United States has increased over 50 percent since the start of the century. Nearly 12 million cosmetic procedures were performed in 2007. In Europe, the second largest market for cosmetic procedures, cosmetic surgery is a $2.2 billion business. Cosmetic surgery is now very common in countries such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In Asia, cosmetic surgery has become an accepted practice; currently most widely prevalent and normal in China where it is currently Asia's biggest cosmetic surgery market1. Proponents argue that the risks inherent in surgery that is not medically necessary are too great and that women are merely succumbing to the pressures of men. Opponents, in contrast, argue women have a right to choose both how they look and what methods they choose to get to how they look. This debate will examine whether cosmetic surgery should be banned.1Cosmetic Surgery,(accessed 8/6/2011)

Cosmetic surgery can be psychologically damaging

Point

The compulsion to change one's body is often a symptom of a deeper mental instability. It should be treated as a problem, not encouraged with surgery. Research indicating that breast augmentation patients are four times more likely to commit suicide compared to other plastic surgery patients raises questions about the mental health of women who choose implants1. It's only a plaster patched over a much deeper problem. There are also studies that show negative psychological effects on patients after their surgery has been completed. For example, a recent analysis 37 studies on patients' psychological and psychosocial functioning before and after cosmetic surgery by social worker Roberta Honigman and psychiatrists Katherine Phillips, MD, and David Castle, MD, found several predictors of poor outcomes, especially for those who hold unrealistic expectations or have a history of depression and anxiety. The researchers found that patients who are dissatisfied with surgery may request repeat procedures or experience depression and adjustment problems, social isolation, family problems, self-destructive behaviours and anger towards the surgeon and his or her staff2.1 American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.). Arlington, Va: American Psychiatric Association Press; 2000. available at http://www.breastimplantinfo.org/what_know/teencosurgery.html (accessed 11/6/2011)2 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (Vol. 113, No. 4, pages 1,229-1,237) (accessed 11/6/2011)

Counterpoint

However, the vast majority of people who have cosmetic surgery have one procedure and never look back. They're made happier and more secure in themselves because of it. In fact, the same study by social worker Roberta Honigman and psychiatrists Katherine Phillips, MD, and David Castle, MD, also suggested positive outcomes in some patients, including improvements in body image and possibly a boost in their quality of life as well1. Therefore, it would be wrong to say that cosmetic surgery can be psychologically damaging as a rule. Many studies have shown that patients have higher self-esteem after surgery. For example, in a recent study by Sarwer found that a year after receiving cosmetic surgery, 87 per cent of patients reported satisfaction following their surgery, including improvements in their overall body image and the body feature altered. They also experienced less negative body image emotions in social situations2.1 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (Vol. 113, No. 4, pages 1,229-1,237) (accessed 11/6/2011)2Dittman, Melissa,. Plastic Surgery: Beauty or Beast? (accessed 11/6/2011)

The dangers involved in elective surgery are not worth the risk

Point

Sometimes we must accept those dangers, as they come in the course of necessary medical procedures. But with elective surgery– procedures people don’t need, but rather merely want – the risks can’t be justified. These risks apply both to the surgery itself, and to the long term. For example, leaking silicone breast implants have been a widespread problem and can lead to death. Silicone gel can leak from the implant into healthy breast tissue and go other parts of your body, such as the lungs and lymph nodes, where it could be impossible to remove. Studies published in 2001 by scientists at the National Cancer Institute raised questions about the long-term safety of breast implants. One study found that women who had breast implants for at least eight years were twice as likely to die from brain cancer, three times as likely to die from lung cancer or other respiratory diseases, and four times as likely to commit suicide, compared to other plastic surgery patients A second study found that women with breast implants for at least eight years were 21% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer compared to other women their age.[1] There is also the risk that the person having the surgery will be dissatisfied with the results.

Counterpoint

The risks of cosmetic surgery are negligible.In actual fact, the American Society of Plastic Surgery estimates that there is 1 death in 57,000 procedures, while a study in the medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery put the mortality rate slightly higher, at about one in 51,459 operations.[1] To put this in perspective, your chances of being injured in a motor vehicle accident are about 1 in 1,000 in any given year and there is about 1 maternal death for every 7692 live births.[2] Therefore cosmetic surgery is a lot safer than people perceive. Furthermore, cosmetic surgery is becoming safer and safer. It is increasingly strictly policed and sky-high legal pay-outs by bad surgeons have ensured that practitioners take more and more care.[3] Technology in surgery and in implants and so forth is forever improving. For example, new non-invasive procedures are being developed such as Liposonix and UltraShape Contour. These procedures use focused ultrasound devices which aim to achieve targeted reduction of fat tissue by focusing ultrasound energy that causes permanent disruption of fat cells without damage to the epidermis, dermis or underlying tissues and organs.[4] Procedures such as this would decrease the risk of infection.

Cosmetic surgery is unfair, for only those who can afford it have access to it

Point

Only those that can pay for it get it. The most popular surgeries include breast augmentation, liposuction, nasal surgery, eyelid surgery and abdominoplasty.[1] There surgeries cost between £3,000 and £5000, between £2,500 and £6,000, between £3,500 and £4,000 and between £2,000 to £6,000 respectively.[2] So if it has the advantages the opposition claims, the rich will look good, and the poor will not.

Counterpoint

You can spend your money how you like. Why shouldn't people be allowed to make the personal choice to change their appearance with their own cash? Furthermore, the appearance division the proposition seeks to suggest between rich and poor is much more dependent on quality of diet. Diet is a universal factor that affects complexion, height, etc.1, while cosmetic surgery is a relatively insignificant factor in statistical terms and one that only affects the particular thing on which surgery is conducted.1Physical benefits of a balanced diet (accessed 11/6/2011)

An outright ban would be easier than the partial bans that have been enacted in some places.

Point

The state of Queensland in Australia has a ban on teenagers having plastic surgery. This prevents anyone under 18 having cosmetic surgery unless it is to correct deformities or disfiguring injuries, as well as allowing for procedures to improve medical, psychological or social well-being. This potentially leaves difficulty drawing the line for what is allowed1. A much more comprehensive ban would avoid this. Cosmetic surgery is already to some extent regulated. In the UK it is regulated by the GMC and practising surgeons have to be enrolled on its specialist register. At the same time all invasive cosmetic surgery and laser treatments are regulated. A healthcare commission inspects all registered establishments and can revoke licences. As such it would not be difficult to expand these regulating bodies to be making sure that cosmetic surgery is only performed when as in Queensland it is to correct deformities and disfiguring injuries.1http://abcnews.go.com/Health/BeautySecrets/story?id=4694079&page=1 ">, Childs, Dan, Australian State Bans Cosmetic Surgery for Teens, (accessed 25/8/2011)

Counterpoint

The desire for cosmetic surgery is driven not by external pressure to seek the acceptance of men, but the internal desire to look and feel better about oneself. There are many who find that their appearance truly troubles them and that improving it would greatly enhance their quality of life. Operation Smile, which fixes oral and facial deformities found in poor children across the world, is doing "cosmetic surgery."[1] You can survive with a hare lip or a cleft palate. But your quality of life – your self-esteem, employability, acceptance in a traditional society, etc – is much better without one. Following this principle, breast reduction or augmentation or the removal of acne scars can be just as important. For example, Carole Wrigglesworth's breasts shrank after breastfeeding baby girls and as her breasts shrank so did her self-confidence. As a result she opted to have a breast enlargement surgery and reflecting on the experience, Carole has absolutely no regrets — “I feel sexier, more confident and extremely proud of my body.[2]

The availability of cosmetic surgery increases pressures on women that they must look beautiful.

Point

There is considerable evidence that women's attractiveness is judged more harshly than men's. For example, in a study by Adams and Huston, 1975, participants were asked to rate the attractiveness of photographs of people of varying ages. They found that although attractiveness ratings of both men and women declined with age, the rate of decline for women was greater.[1] Researchers report that women’s magazines have ten and one-half times more ads and articles promoting weight loss than men’s magazines do, and over three-quarters of the covers of women’s magazines include at least one message about how to change a woman’s bodily appearance—by diet, exercise or cosmetic surgery.[2] These views about appearance are damaging because it leads to seriously unhealthy lifestyles that women think they need to look beautiful. For example, in 2003, Teen magazine reported that 35 per cent of girls 6 to 12 years old have been on at least one diet, and that 50 to 70 per cent of normal weight girls believe they are overweight.[3] Cosmetic surgery sends the message that the prejudices some have about appearance are valid.

Banning cosmetic surgery would not prevent it occurring, better for it to be legal and performed properly

Point

If banned, cosmetic surgery will flourish on a black market. Of course cosmetic surgery is already available on the black market but if banned then potentially all the customers who have legal cosmetic surgery will become customers for black market cosmetic surgery. This will drive the prices up and it will be much more dangerous as it will be done by unscrupulous doctors and outside all the safety precautions the legal environment provides. Examples such as that of 46 year old Maria Olivia Aguirre-Castillo died as a result of a black market cosmetic procedure in which cooking oil was injected into her buttocks by an unlicensed practitioner who promised a cheap alternative to legitimate procedures. After spending a week in a coma following the procedure, Ms. Aguirre-Castillo succumbed to multiple organ failure due to fat embolization, as the oil injected into her buttocks attacked her body functions1. Examples such as this would become much more of a common occurrence if cosmetic surgery was banned due to the increase in black market surgeries.1 Cosmetic Surgery bargains, (accessed 12/6/2011)

Counterpoint

The black market argument applies to everything illegal. Of course that risk exists, but the number of those undertaking the activity will be smaller, as the opposition suggests by saying that operations will increase in price. Lack of legal safeguards and medical accountability, and the probability that only badly qualified doctors will offer illegal operations will deter almost everyone from risking black market surgery. Fewer operations must be desirable if it is agreed that the activity concerned should be banned. Since discussing the effects of banning cosmetic surgery is at the present time a hypothetical task, this argument will cite the prohibition of drugs as an example. A 2001 Australian study of 18-29 year olds by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research suggests that prohibition deters illicit drug use. 29% of those who had never used cannabis cited the illegality of the substance as their reason for never using the drug, while 19% of those who had ceased use of cannabis cited its illegality as their reason1.1 NSW Bureau of Crime statistics and research, Does prohibition deter cannabis use?, (accessed 12/6/2011)

The development of cosmetic surgery over the years has been intertwined with that of reconstructive and more general medical surgery.

Point

Cosmetic surgery has greatly aided reconstructive surgery. For example, maxillofacial surgery, or surgery of the jaw, has developed with insights from both plastic surgeons and oral surgeons. The roots of oral and maxillofacial surgery lie in the World Wars, when service personnel sustained devastating facial injuries1. These grave injuries necessitated new innovations in reconstructive surgical procedures. It was around this time that aesthetic surgery began to take its place as a somewhat more respected aspect of plastic surgery. This progress also brought with it a greater understanding of anaesthesia and infection prevention, allowing surgeons to perform a wider variety of increasingly complex procedures2. To shut down cosmetic surgery would be to cut off a valuable outlet for research and discovery. The market can sometimes create great benefits: people work hard in pursuit of profits and often their work can help us all. Plenty of people make a good living from normal medicine and they are not criticised, the same should be true for privately provided medicine: there's nothing wrong with turning a profit.1Dennison, Lucy, Maxillofacial surgery, (accessed 12/6/2011) 2 Kita, Nathalie, The history of Plastic surgery,(accessed 12/6/2011)

Counterpoint

It could however be argued that commercialized medicine will harm society, yet produce little in the way of benefits. Non-profit hospitals undertake costly, but needed, research and maintain services which are not economically viable but which provide doctors with the training experiences necessary to medical education. Where profits rule, however, such necessary, but unprofitable, research and services important to medical education will be neglected. Furthermore, as for-profits come to dominate the health care sector, society will suffer a severe shortage of unprofitable, but critical, services, such as emergency rooms. Meanwhile, scarce resources will be squandered to produce and aggressively market lucrative, but unnecessary, services, such as cosmetic surgery1.1Andre, Claire & Velasquez, Manuel, A healthy bottom line: Profits or people? (accessed 12/6/2011)

Women have the right and freedom to choose how they look

Point

The freedom to change their body if they wish is important to women who have historically been subjugated by men, their bodies regarded as owned and for the use of men. Cosmetic surgery– the ultimate control over one’s body, perhaps – is the latest stage in the emancipation of women and their ability to decide what happens to their bodies. The French performance artist Orlan, for example, sees plastic surgery as a path towards self-determination – a way for women to regain control of their bodies. Instead of having her body rejuvenated or beautiful, she turns the tables and uses surgery as a medium for a different project.[1] Orlan designs her body, orchestrates the operations and makes the final decision about when to stop and when to go on. She is the creator, not just the creation; the one who decides and not the passive object of another's decisions that many people view recipients of cosmetic surgery to be.[2] Feminists have often envisioned a future where technology has been seized for women for their own ends. Take, for example, Shulamith Firestone's Dialectic of Sex (1970) in which she fantasies a world in which reproductive technology frees women from the chores and constraints of biological motherhood.[3]

Counterpoint

If anything, cosmetic surgery is the latest phenomenon in the long history of the objectification of women in society. In actuality this technology is not empowering because it is largely used by women who are driven to meet male standards of beauty, exaggerating their shape and seeking to remain youthful lest their partner leave them for (often literally) a younger model. A preference for younger women (which is universally documented) evolved for men to narrow the range of productive mates to those still young enough to bear children1. As women's reproductive capacity drops off dramatically, so do men's ratings of 'attractiveness' for her.1Goehring, Jennifer, Modern standards of beauty: Nature or Nurture? An evolutionary perspective (accessed 11/6/2011)

Given that the reality is that we're judged on our appearance all the time, it's perfectly rational to want to look good.

Point

Nobody's forcing anyone to have cosmetic surgery– the market is driven by demand. Attractiveness is greatly affects first impressions and later interpersonal relationships. In a classic study entitled 'What is Beautiful is good', psychologists Kenneth Dion, Ellen Berscheid and Elaine Hatfield asked college students to rate photographs of strangers on a variety of personal characteristics. Those who were judged to be attractive were also more likely to be rated intelligent, kind, happy, flexible, interesting, confident, friendly, modest, and successful than those judged unattractive [1]. Teachers rate attractive children more highly on a variety of positive characteristics including IQ and sociability, and attractive babies are cuddled and kissed more often than unattractive babies[2].

Counterpoint

On the other hand, it could be argued that instead of giving into this reality we should be fighting against the culture of unrealistic beauty ideals. Allen Ginsburg, a radical writer of the 1960s, said, "Whoever controls the media- the images- controls the culture"1. The media constantly conveys unrealistic images of the ideal female body. Every woman has a unique build and make-up, yet the media always tries to perpetuate what they believe the universal standard of women should be2. These convince an individual that something is terribly wrong with his physical appearance and that it needs to be mended. The growth in cosmetic surgery enhances people's perception that there is something wrong with their body if they don't conform to the ideal beautiful form. It could also be argued that the lengths that women go to to try and look good are indeed not rational. Cosmetic surgery with its high cost and risks certainly does not seem like a rational option3.1Ginsburg, Allen, Allen Ginsburg quotes, (accessed 15/6/2011)

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